Senate Healthcare Bill

Family Security Matters

A Fact a Day Keeps Senate Health Care Away...
The Washington Post has picked up on something we reported a few weeks ago, which is that most of the provisions in the Senate bill don't take effect until after 2014. "Measured against the promises of President Obama... the [health care] bill the Senate begins debating this week could be setting Americans up for disappointment: Some of the main reforms would not take place for several years, and even when they do... the bill does too little to make sure they would be enforced." There are plenty of reasons why Democrats are delaying the "benefits" of the bill that they have long promised. If they postpone the biggest provisions of the bill, it gives taxpayers a false sense of security about the bill's cost. The longer they delay the most expensive entitlements, the lower the price tag will seem.
On the Senate floor yesterday, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) finally admitted what we've known all along--that his bill will cost as much as $2.5 trillion. "Health care reform, whether you... start in 2010 or 2014... it is still either $1 trillion or $2.5 trillion, depending on where you start..." Of course, it's no coincidence that President Obama will be facing reelection in 2012, so the potential failures of the bill wouldn't be fully known until two years later. But liberals shouldn't worry too much about raising money for the plan; the major provisions that tax and fine Americans begin as soon as the bill passes.